Newegg Refurb, Shuttle AK31A KT266A MB for $45

[Zyxenus]

Newegg

Last time I check, there were still 71 boards left. Probably the cheapest price u can get for a KT266A board. What are ya experience with this board?

 

[galperi1]

I bought that board from Newegg about 2 months ago. It rawked... but I paid 59$ There was absolutely nothing wrong with it and I have no complaints

 

[Drakkon]

damn just bought a refurb XP-333 from them for cheap would have rather had this board....if u need one go for it!!! my xp333 came just like new with all manuals and everything looking practically new and works flawlessly for a week now!!!

 

[LouPoir]

Great board. I have used a new one and a refurb.

How can you go wrong for $45 shipped.

Lou

 

[bambam]

Darn it . Before I saw this post, I ordered the Oupost K7S5A / 1.0 gig duron combo . Are the Ak31A s as power supply sensitive as the K7s5a .

 

[grifterspawn]

Got that board refurbed before, pretty kickin' board and damn cheap.

 

[Princeman]

I'm in, thanks!

 

[overclock]

I got one back in January and it rocks. No problems. YMMV!

 

[docmanhattan]

58 left.

 

[todays]

Beware. I had one good experience with a Newegg refurb and one bad. I did purchase an AK31A rev 3.1 back several months ago and it works great. I think it was probably returned because the 3.1 version boards have a sticker over the 2.0 ver on the silkscreening on the motherboard. Someone had pealed it up and looked under it. It probably freaked them out so they returned the board. Others are probably returned for who knows what. So good, some bad. Flip a coin.

My bad experience: I purchased a refurb Ennermax powersupply. It worked less than one day and died - and I RMA'ed it. They send me back and e-mail saying they couldn't replace it and "We have therefore credited you full on this item to your credit card. You can use it to purchase any replacement as needed." When I got my credit card statement back, they had only credited me back the cost of the product, NO TAX, NO SHIPPING. So I have nothing and paid tax and shipping in both directions. Of course you don't find this out for 40 days later when your statment shows up in the mail.

So I will no longer purchase a refurbished item from Newegg. I will probably avoid them for a while on every purchase just to punish them for the bad taste they left in my mouth. That's the way to promote good customer service. Keep up the good work Newegg. lol

 

[barabas]

Personally I think $45 is a good deal if you need decent board, it is not much money so the risk is low. It is $45 too much (read wasted) if you don't need the board.
If you are buying on an impulse, you are probably wasting money.

 

[N8]

<< Are the Ak31A s as power supply sensitive as the K7s5a . >>



I'd say yes. I had 2 of these mobos....1 now. Runs stable w/ 1.2GHz Tbird in it, but I cannot get it to work w/ my XP 1800+. Note: there is some sorta prollem w/ the AK31 and the Antec PP-412X...mine works fine w/ the 1.2Tbird and my PP-302X, but won't boot w/ PP-412X and I've even tweaked the pots up in it....but i must say, its very stable w/ the 300W Antec / 1.2TBird combo...just dissapointed that i couldn't get my XP 1800+ to work in either of my 2 Shuttles.

 

[idfubar]

Does this board support Linux?

 

[madthumbs]

I got one of these mobos about a month ago from newegg. The ps2 bus is dead, had to hook up a usb keyboard to install windows. Luckily it worked with USB keyboard/ mouse. I would not say this is a deal, as a motherboard that cheap is not worth the hassle of returning! I think a much better deal would be one of the KT333 boards they have there for less than $100.

 

[barabas]

I had no problem installing Mandrake on Epox with KTA266A so I guess Shuttle should be no problem. But of course depends on what video card you will use. Standard cards will do fine.

 

[barabas]

Madthumbs, you are 100% right. KT333 boards are now below $100, it is just not worth hassle to stay back with outdated boards.

 

[MrDurden]

I bought a AK31 v3.1 (not AK31a) bundled with a XP1800 a couple months ago from Fry's and my board just crapped out last Friday (cause is indeterminate but it appears the CMOS was corrupted, possibly through no fault of the board design). Though Shuttle's official policy is to not provide warranty to non-direct customers (i.e. distributors can make claims but end users cannot) I spoke with a rep from their LA office yesterday and they offered to RMA me and issue me a new unit.

Initial price is a cost but so is poor (CS / warranty follow through) - my experience was a good one and it appears they stand behind their product.

Incidentally I had no problem running an XP1800, it worked on the first try with no tweaks...

 

[RideFree]

todays,

I think you are right on with respect to Newegg...

Unfortunately, they'll sell you whatever you want to buy. I got 2 of their Mr. Flash CFs for my new 5K megapixel camera and they were soooo sloooow. I wrote them but they refused to take 'em back and let me buy something better.

I, too, am "punishing them"!

With regard to the AK31 v3.1s, both mine are awsom and flawless. Best bang for the buck.
However, I did buy them from Newegg at retail. Second hand would be ok if they stood behind 'em
but, the transformer episode would leave a bad taste with anybody.

Heck, it's our money and if they want any more of mine, they'll have to do "what's right"!
Seems to me like there are a lot of these kind of stories that have leaked at other sites that they don't directly control, like newegg.com/Rate this product/Read the reviews.

My $.06 worth


:|

 

[RideFree]

AK31 v3.1s are really excellent & awsome but not antything like awsom.

Wouldn't it be more correct to ask if Linux supported the AK31 v3.1?

I believe I've got it running on one somewhere...
I'm pretty sure RH7.2 supports the KT266a & probably the new Mandrake.
I believe Linux kernel 2.4.14 is the key.

 

[idfubar]

<< Wouldn't it be more correct to ask if Linux supported the AK31 v3.1? >>



Yeah, kinda... Some hardware manufacturers actively support the linux community through driver releases and specifications, and others just piggyback off the hard work of dedicated developers within the community. But yeah, I guess the better question to have asked was "is the KT266A chipset supported under Linux".... Moot point, considering your post.

Thanks for the information, I now feel much more comfortable about purchasing one of these boards.

 

[tedinde1]

I just sent my 3rd bad MB refurb board back to new egg. Voltage is terrible on the board. Keeps locking up. I give up one the refurbs. Whoever gets the board i just sent back. good luck

 

[todays]

I finally called Newegg because they never responded to my e-mail questions. The lady on the phone said "we don't check our parts before we send them out". So, like I said, beware. You might get someone elses bad board. They are just using you, at your shipping expense (in both directions), to confirm the parts are bad. lol

 

[madthumbs]

I'm sure if you hassle Newegg with email that they will absorb the shipping expense, at least they did for a brand new retail video card I got that was defective. If it is or becomes a problem for them, then they may learn not to use us as guinea pigs. Anyway, my point earlier was,... do you really want a good possibility of having to return a motherboard? These things aren't easily swapped out, and the labor rate on installation of one of those is ~$50/ hour! You may as well go for a Kt333 board, as they have good ones for ~$100! If you insist on this outdated board, look up the cost of it brand new... it's not far off!

 

[Vette73]

If you don't want to take the chance of a refurb. but still want a fast stable board cheap. Look at the AK35GTR at newegg.com. Is is only $88 and has raid and a 5.1 C-Media sound card. Also a shuttle board. Kinda like the big brother of the Ak 31a board. I am running the AK35GTR board right now. I think I paid $115 and its worth every penny.
Kinda like a KR7-Raid, but cheaper and with a 5.1 sound card.

 

[S13SilviaK]

<< Beware. I had one good experience with a Newegg refurb and one bad. I did purchase an AK31A rev 3.1 back several months ago and it works great. I think it was probably returned because the 3.1 version boards have a sticker over the 2.0 ver on the silkscreening on the motherboard. Someone had pealed it up and looked under it. It probably freaked them out so they returned the board. Others are probably returned for who knows what. So good, some bad. Flip a coin.

My bad experience: I purchased a refurb Ennermax powersupply. It worked less than one day and died - and I RMA'ed it. They send me back and e-mail saying they couldn't replace it and "We have therefore credited you full on this item to your credit card. You can use it to purchase any replacement as needed." When I got my credit card statement back, they had only credited me back the cost of the product, NO TAX, NO SHIPPING. So I have nothing and paid tax and shipping in both directions. Of course you don't find this out for 40 days later when your statment shows up in the mail.

So I will no longer purchase a refurbished item from Newegg. I will probably avoid them for a while on every purchase just to punish them for the bad taste they left in my mouth. That's the way to promote good customer service. Keep up the good work Newegg. lol >>



This was pretty interesting since if this was true the IRS would probably be interested. Well, I checked my G/F account after she had returned a mobo and found they did the same to her, so they just got this email. I also have the email showing that after I specifically asked for my taxes to be refunded their cust. serv. rep. responded saying I WOULD be getting a sales tax refund.

I recently checked my account to see if my credit had been posted. When I checked you have only credited me the actual amount for the product, not including taxes as you previously stated you would, and are required to by law. I expect the taxed amount to be in my account immediately. Also, after seeing that this same practice happened to another member of the forums I visit I woud suggest you reform your practices. Not only is this business of sending out "refurbished" products that have not in fact even been tested a bit questionable, but I also am willing to bet the IRS would love to hear about sales tax not being returned to the customer.


----- Original Message -----
From: "sales(ne).service" <Service@newegg.com>
To: "xxxxxxx" <xxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 10:34 AM
Subject: RE: Problem with your RMA# 163757 from newegg.com


THAT IS CORRECT SIR.





Thank You,

Robert
Customer Support
Newegg.com
800-390-1119



-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxx [mailto:xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 10:06 AM
To: sales(ne).service
Subject: Re: Problem with your RMA# 163757 from newegg.com


O.K. that's fine, but I would assume that the amount in full will be posted
to my account this would include taxes? Not just the price of the product?